New Business?

I am trying to do something completely new to me; business. I am trying to create a little business/ hobbie here at school to make a little extra money for something I love and know how to do. I was recently home and was working on my snowboard with my dad, tuning it and getting it ready for the upcoming season. A thought jumped into my head, "why not try this at school?" At first I kind of disregarded the thought, but right then my dad suggested I do without me having to say anything. At that point I didn't really have a choice!

I decided I would give it a try. My first step was coming up with an idea of what I was actually going to do, and how I would do it. I created some flyers and started hanging them all over campus. As a matter of fact, I'm still not done with that! I pretty much put them on every entrance to every building I could, as well as bathrooms and other places inside those buildings. I basically thought that if people see my advertisement once, they may walk right by and disregard it. Yet, if they walk by it a second or third time, they might actually stop and read what I am offering. I put little tabs on my add showing my phone number and email so that they could get a hold of me. I'll be honest, it is a pretty good feeling when you see a couple tabs ripped off your add. Shows that some people are actually interested!

I decided that for a time being, I am just going to offer ski and snowboard waxing, but not sharpening of edges. Sharpening the edges takes a long time and takes a lot of care. I am only charging $10 for a complete waxing. Most ski shops charge around $30 for a waxing and sharpening. If people actually start to give me business, then I will consider adding on sharpening for an additional $5 or something like that. Either way, it's much cheaper than going to a ski shop which is what I hope other students realize! This whole business thing is an experiment to me (can you tell I'm a Bio major?). If it doesn't work out, then at least I can say I tried. I have seen other students offer other business here on campus. I wonder if any of them were successful.  Thus far, I have only seen tabs ripped off my adds. No phone calls or emails yet. Hopefully they will come when we get closer to the season.

Any one have any suggestions for me?

Take care,
Nate

Class Registration!

It's that time of semester again, class registration is here! Class registration is not always the most exciting time of the year. It involves a lot of stress, getting up early in order to log-in to Knight Vision before 7 a.m., and worrying whether or not you will actually get the classes you need! I haven't had any nightmares happen to myself during registration, but I have heard of some very stressful moments from some friends.

The first step to registration is having a meeting with your adviser so they can clear you to register. The meeting is never longer than 10 minutes, and your adviser just makes sure you are on the right track with your major. If you don't have this meeting, you adviser doesn't clear you, and you can't register for classes. The next step is logging on to Knight Vision (hopefully before the morning of registration) in order to look at your options. Some things to consider when looking for classes are what LSR's you need to complete, what classes you need to complete for your major, and if possible what classes you can take for pure enjoyment. There are usually multiple day/ time options for each class which allows you to create a schedule that works for you. This was one of my favorite parts of college classes! Being able to pick when you take each class can really make life easier. Knight Vision allows you to save classes that you want to register for. This means that when it comes time to roll out of bed at 6:45 in the morning to log-in to Knight Vision, it is easy to find what classes you are going to try to register for. While you are doing this, there are hundreds of other students doing the same thing, so Knight Vision usually runs pretty slow which doesn't help your anxiety! You are not guaranteed to get every class you want, so make sure you find optional classes to take in case one of the ones you want gets filled up! Another option is signing a petition form and asking the professor of that class if you could possibly squeeze into the class.

Luckily, I was able to get into all of the classes I wanted on the first try, so I was happy with that! I am going to be taking Biological Communications, second semester Spanish, Elements of Calculus, and Early Modern Europe. The most fantastic part of it all is that I was able to make all of these classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Which means I have Tuesdays and Thursdays off! Bio Communications doesn't have a lab, so I was able to make it happen. I am super excited because I plan on snowboarding as much as possible on those days. Smuggs won't be crowded, and hopefully I get some powder days!

If you have any questions on class registration or anything else, let me know!

P.S. I bought my $30 Smuggs pass today!

Transportation Issues?

Ever worry or wonder how you would get back home if, for whatever reason, your parents couldn't come to St. Mike's to pick you up? Well, you really don't have much to worry about it! A lot of students here have cars. Although freshman aren't allowed to have cars on campus until second semester, there are still plenty of ways for transportation. There are a lot of students that are from the east coast. I've met students from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maine, Rhode Island, and many other states. basically, if you need a ride, there is almost always someone who you could car pool with!

Another fantastic option for transportation is by bus. I recently found a bus company called Megabus, and at first I thought it was too good to be true. Then I realized, it IS true! Megabus offers bus rides from Burlington to Boston for as low as $1 and a $0.50 reservation fee. CRAZY! The earlier you get your ticket, the cheaper it will be. I tried Megabus out a couple of weeks ago to visit my cousins in Boston. I bought my ticket a week in advance, and for a round trip ticket the total was $14. That's only $7 each way! I have my car here at school, but it really is cheaper to take this bus then to drive yourself down. I was amazed at how low the price was. Here is the map that shows where Megabus can take you. The bus itself was extremely nice. They offer free wi-fi on the bus, a bathroom, as well as power outlets for whatever you may need to charge. The drivers were safe, and I had absolutely no problems the entire drive. I will be taking the Megabus again, only because its going to save a lot of gas money. I would highly suggest it!